Disney's attracted collectors with its buttons, shot glasses, and mugs. Each has its own set of unique fans, but Disney has to compete with a slew of other providers in each niche. Enter Vinylmation in 2008, a collectors exclusive to the company. The figurines were given their own event at Comic-Con 2013, will be given their own artist signings at D23 and their own online animated series.
We are thrilled to give you an interview with the owner of one of the leading Vinylmation fan sites, Vinylmation World.
TDC- Can you begin by telling our readers some about who you are?
VM- Vinylmation World started out as a checklist site for Vinylmations. It quickly grew into a Vinylmation news site and has been growing ever since. Today we have a volunteer staff of 8 people from all over the world that write articles, take pictures and cover events and the Parks on a daily basis. We are also approaching a combined total of 11,000 followers on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and we have thousands of visitors everyday from around the world visit the site.
TDC- Could you explain what Vinylmation is?
VM- Vinylmations started out in 2008 with the release of a blank Mickey shaped Vinyl figure. Later that year, Disney released Park Series #1, which were production pieces that were designed by Disney Artists. Since then, the Vinylmation brand has expanded to Minnie shaped figures, Monorail shaped figures as well as various shaped figures contained in the Park Starz brand. Today, Vinylmations are usually released every week either at the Parks, Online or at Disney Stores across the world.
TDC- There's a personalized option as well, correct?
VM- Vinylmations can be customized by artists, collectors and kids. The Mickey shaped mold is sold as a "blank" and collectors or artists can paint, draw and put stickers on it to create the design of their choice. The Custom artist side of Vinylmations is a very popular part of the collecting community.
TDC- Disney recently announced a new character series based on the Vinylmation characters. Could you tell us some about this new series?
VM- Disney did release information about the upcoming Web Series called, Blank: A Vinylmation Love Story. The series is currently scheduled for 12 episodes which will be released over the next several months. The World Premiere will be held at the D23 Expo next weekend in Anaheim, CA The story is based on a Mickey shaped Vinylmation called Blank that comes out of the factory unpainted and looking different from the other Vinylmations. He meets a Minnie Mouse shaped Vinylmation called Bow and they become friends. She is then taken away and Blank goes on an epic journey to find Bow and learn about who he is.
TDC- Where do you see Vinylmation expanding into next?
VM- With the fact that these are getting some mainstream media coverage and the fact that they are gaining more and more collectors each day, the possibility of Vinylmations seems endless. Disney has also stepped into the Movie series releases such as Beauty and the Beast and The Little Mermaid. We wouldn't be surprised to see more releases in the future from movies such as The Jungle Book or Aladdin
